Liverpool 2; Charlton Athletic 0: The thrills and spills at Highbury and Old Trafford may catch the eye, but, if class laced with relentless efficiency wins titles, there is an air of champions-elect on Merseyside.
Little from this routine dismissal of Charlton will stick in the minds of Kopites, but they will still be purring at the sight of their favourites at the pinnacle.
This win was clinical, achieved with minimum fuss and effort; the ultimate reward is likely to be far more spectacular.
"If we win our last five games, we will win the title," said the assistant manager Phil Thompson. Cold mathematics decree otherwise, but given four of Liverpool's last fixtures are against teams in the bottom five and the other is at Tottenham, it is hard to disagree.
The next time Gerard Houllier's side run out for a league match - on April 13th at Sunderland - the picture will be clearer with the Gunners having had two derbies in which to erode a two-point deficit, starting at the Valley today.
Charlton may have been anaemic here, but they are unbeaten in eight games against capital opposition this term and visit Manchester United on the final afternoon. With that in mind, the Frenchman presumably muttered "bonne chance" to Alan Curbishley on the final whistle.
"I know if Arsenal win all their games they'll be champions, but I'm convinced they will drop points," said Liverpool's midfielder Patrik Berger, back after a two-month absence.
"The pressure's very much on them. We are convinced we can win all our remaining games. The momentum is with us again, not just in the league but in Europe. We can do this." Liverpool's purposeful strut smacks of a side who have forgotten how to lose.
The team is crammed with pace bursting to explode upon opposing defences - it could be supplemented by Auxerre's Djibril Cisse next season alongside Nicolas Anelka - while their own rearguard swaggers with confidence born of only two goals conceded in the league since mid-January.
Self-belief abounds, strengthened by the sight of an increasingly chirpy Houllier. "You can't play for a bigger club than Liverpool at the moment," added Berger."
Charlton have won at Highbury this season, and arrived here in the top eight and with a fine away record. So Liverpool might have been happy to "win ugly", to use a Thompson phrase. Instead, a fourth successive win was gleaned with stunning simplicity.
From the moment Vladimir Smicer rose for a rare headed goal from Danny Murphy's free-kick, Charlton were sunk. A second followed as the livewire Anelka and Smicer combined for Michael Owen to prod home his first goal in seven weeks. He was too often drawn into midfield to be clattered remorselessly by Scott Parker and Chris Bart-Williams, and still appeared wary of stretching those suspect hamstrings, but at least his scoring instincts are restored.
Owen's header, cleared off the line by Jason Euell, and Jamie Carragher's blistering follow-up from 25 yards tipped round a post by Dean Kiely were as close to Liverpool came to adding a third. Only Euell's fine snap volley tested Jerzy Dudek at the other end.
"The form of the top sides is ferocious and I can't see it being sorted out until right at the end," said Curbishley.
Guardian Service
LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Carragher, Henchoz, Hyypia, Riise, Murphy, Hamann, Berger (McAllister 84), Heskey (Smicer 19), Owen (Litmanen 78), Anelka. Subs Not Used: Arphexad, Wright. Booked: Smicer. Goals: Smicer 23, Owen 36.
CHARLTON ATHLETIC: Kiely, Young, Costa, Rufus, Powell, Stuart, Bart-Williams, Parker (Kinsella 57), Konchesky (Robinson 69), Svensson (Johansson 75), Euell. Subs Not Used: Ilic, Fortune. Booked: Bart-Williams, Parker.
Referee: D Gallagher (Oxfordshire).
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